Maurighof Join
An old oil painting of Maurighof: a yellow house with a timbered wing, a palm in the garden, children playing on the lawn and the mountains behind.

Hirschwang an der Rax · Niederösterreich

Am Fuß der Rax

An old house at the foot of the Rax.
The doors are open again.

The garden in morning light: picnic tables, a white gazebo, two turquoise umbrellas and old trees in front of a stone house.

01 · Das Tal

People from Vienna have been coming up this valley for the summer air for more than a hundred years.

Maurighof sits at the bottom of it, under the trees.

And right now, it is changing.

A share certificate of Österreichische Bergbahnen AG for one hundred Schilling, printed in green, dated Vienna, 11 February 1927.
Two old cabins of the Raxseilbahn, one blue and yellow, one of red wood, standing on the lawn at Payerbach station.
Today's green Raxseilbahn cabin arriving at a steel pylon, mountains behind.
The view from the top of the Rax: pine trees, a limestone cliff and the valley far below under cloud.

02 · Die Seilbahn

Up the Rax since 1926.

That year Austria's first passenger cable car opened here in Hirschwang. Old cabins from the line now stand at Payerbach station. The new ones are green, and they still leave from the bottom of the valley for the top of the Rax.

03 · Das Haus

Rooms made for living in.

Herringbone floors, doors taller than you are, and a chandelier in almost every room. None of it was put there for a photo. Feri and Lise keep the rooms the way they were meant to be used, with the windows open to the garden.

A large room with a double bed, a bookcase full of books, a writing desk and a white sofa.
i The library room
An iron four-poster bed hung with red cloth under a chandelier, between two carved wardrobes.
ii The red canopy
Two single beds with green headboards, seen through an open door with a painted wardrobe.
iii Two beds, green headboards
A tall room with a chandelier, two wooden wardrobes, two armchairs and a panelled double door.
iv Chandelier and two wardrobes
Two tall windows with cream curtains, a small table with a mirror and chairs, and an armchair under a white cover.
v Curtains to the floor
An iron bed with a flowered cover under a ceiling rose and chandelier, blue floral curtains behind.
vi The ceiling rose
A writing table and folding chair by a window, next to shelves of books and a white armchair.
vii A desk by the window

04 · Die Dinge

"Put some love in this stuff."

Heard on a walk around the place, September 2026
Close up of a bed under red canopy cloth and a patterned wall.
Red cloth, white linen
A bathroom with a black and white checkered floor, a deep white bath and patterned wallpaper.
The checkered bath
A large kitchen with built-in white cupboards, a stone floor, a long wooden table and a window onto green trees.
The big kitchen

Some of these things are a hundred years old. The bath still has its checkered floor, the kitchen still has its big white cupboards, and the canopies are still red. Some of it needs mending. That's part of the work, and it's the good part.

05 · Der Tisch

Two kitchens,
one table.

Knödel rolled by hand on a wooden board. Hummus with chickpeas and parsley on the green Gmundner plates. Fatteh, watermelon, a tray of something from the oven. The recipes come from different kitchens and end up on the same table.

Nine Knödel on a wooden cutting board, rolled and ready to cook. Hummus with olive oil, paprika, chickpeas and parsley on a green and white Gmundner plate. Fatteh topped with tomatoes, chickpeas and green chilli on a green and white plate. A garden table with two plates of hummus, fatteh and a plate of cut watermelon. Evening dinner on a wooden table: a pan of rice with vegetables, a tray of baked chicken, salad and a water jug.
The garden at midday: green picnic tables, folded umbrellas, a yellow table under a hazel tree and a mossy boulder.

06 · Der Garten

Tables under
the trees.

Benches in the shade, a fire pit, a grill and a pool. In summer people rent the garden for an evening, and they grill, swim and celebrate.

Looking down through a big tree onto garden tables and the lawn.
Blue sky and tall trees over a sloping lawn with picnic tables and a closed umbrella.
The garden in the evening under an overhanging branch, a yellow table and chairs on bare earth.

07 · Im Wandel

A moment of transformation.

Maurighof is changing. The rooms are open to guests again, the sheep are fed twice a day, and the land behind the house is being worked again. What it becomes depends a lot on who comes now.

The morning round, in the stable
The goats, waiting at the gate
A flock of sheep grazing in a green meadow in front of the forest.
The meadow

Everything is possible here.

Said on a walk around the land, September 2026

Behind the house the land keeps going. Two big meadows and a flock of sheep. Goats who get upset if you don't make time for them. A bee house that has had no bees for two years. A greenhouse that lost its glass in a storm, and a dog run nobody has used in fifty years. None of it is finished, and that is the invitation.

6
kinds of cherry
3
kinds of apple
2
rounds a day with the sheep
1
greenhouse to glaze again

08 · Komm

Be part of it.

There are three ways in. Pick the one that fits, or all three.

i

Play the farm board

Take a job on the land: feed the sheep, mend a fence, glaze the greenhouse. Every job you do goes on the board under your name.

Enter the farm board

ii

Get the news

A letter now and then about the project, the events and the people who come. We write when there is something to say.

I'd like to hear about

iii

Come to Maurighof

Visit for a day, stay for a while, bring a project, or just say hello. Tell us a little about yourself and we'll write back.

Fill in the form

Come to Maurighof

Tell us who's coming.

A few questions, so we know who you are and what you'd like. It takes about three minutes. Only the ones with a star are required.

What brings you? *
What would you like to do here?